Joe Pavelski goes back to Sharks' first line

San Jose Sharks' Joe Pavelski (8) makes a pass= against Los Angeles Kings' in the second period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, April 20, 2014. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)
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Josie Lepe
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LOS ANGELES -- Joe Pavelski was back on the top line with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns on Tuesday morning as the Sharks prepared for Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings.

And Todd McLellan wasn't about to address the issue of dropping him back into the third-line center where he switched midway through Game 2, a line change that seemed to spark San Jose to its 7-2 comeback victory.

"He's there now," the Sharks coach said, "so we'll use him there."

McLellan has been wrestling with the idea of moving Pavelski to the third line since the return of rookie Tomas Hertl, who played most of the early season on Thornton's line before being injured. That gives the Sharks even more scoring depth, but the idea of moving a 41-goal scorer off the top line makes it difficult.

Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter even acknowledged that where Pavelski played had a bigger impact on the Kings than the return of Hertl and another injured Shark, Raffi Torres.

"They've got a lot of ammo over there and if they move it around it puts a little bit more pressure on other guys," Sutter said.

San Jose is trying to become the first Western Conference team to take a 3-0 series lead as three others all failed to accomplish that Monday night. But McLellan said the Sharks need to go back only a year to know how difficult it will be Tuesday night as the San Jose dropped the first two games of its 2013 series, then won the next two back home.

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"We came back to this building tied," McLellan said. "It's hard to win on the road, especially this time of year. We're aware of that fact, we know they play well here, but it's our job to do everything we can to change that."

Sutter, however, said the Kings know it'll take more than home ice to get the win.